EXPERIENCED Down ace Kevin McKernan has pointed to the example of Gaoth Dobhair stalwart Kevin Cassidy as the reason why age should only ever be a number when it comes to playing football.
McKernan is heading into his 13th year in the red and black - Down’s first under new boss Paddy Tally - and insists that, like Cassidy, he intends to squeeze every last drop out of his career before even considering hanging up the boots.
Thirty-seven-year-old Cassidy, stationed at full-forward for Gaoth Dobhair, wreaked havoc on full-backs lines in Donegal and Ulster as the Gaeltacht side swept to the provincial title earlier this month.
It was a year to remember on the club front for McKernan too after he helped Burren end Kilcoo’s domination of the Down championship.
And he is looking forward to getting back into the swing of the inter-county scene as soon as a niggly shoulder injury allows him.
“I’m 31 now, season 13 with Down, and that’s off the back of minors and U21s too. But listen, if you’re fit and well enough to do it, Paddy’s not going to put a regime in place that is going to be ridiculously hard to commit to,” said McKernan.
“I remember Pete McGrath saying that being part of a county team is a massively positive thing in your life. You’re staying healthy, you’re with friends, you’re there with a common goal and purpose – it’s a very encouraging thing to be a part of and when it’s pulled from you, you’re going to have a lot of time to fill.
“People are very quick to run down the commitment level. It’s nearly leading towards that if you’re a county player, it’s as if you’re being restricted and pinned to being at training - yes you are, but you’re staying fit and healthy, everybody should be doing it.
“Everybody in the population should be doing it, and Gaelic football provides that.
I remember Kevin Cassidy saying that after he was no longer involved with Donegal, all of a sudden he had to think of other ways to keep fit.
“Look at the man now for Gaoth Dobhair, turned into a complete beast at 37, dominating the game at that age when people maybe think you should be retiring – I’m looking towards maybe another few years myself.
“I’m sure it’s bringing a lot of happy times for his community and his family, so people are very quick to run down the demands of playing football. It’s something very special to do.”
From a county perspective, McKernan will not be sorry to see the back of 2018.
The Mournemen were relegated to Division Three of the National League in the spring before being destroyed by eventual champions Donegal in the last four of the Ulster Championship.
A Qualifier exit at the hands of Cavan put the tin hat on a year to forget but, looking into 2019 under a new regime, McKernan is hopeful Tally can help Down get back to winning ways.
“We went out to that game with all the intentions of pushing Donegal really hard,” he said, reflecting on that one-sided Ulster Championship defeat to the Tir Chonaill men.
“You come up with all these plans in the two or three weeks coming into it, you’re thinking you’re going to be competitive and we were just blown out of the water, we really were.
“There’s no worse place to be than out on the pitch at that time, you try to turn the tide but really we were beaten by the superior team. A lot of things add to that in terms of how we had prepped for that game, but what happens on the day can be very different.
“Donegal, Tyrone and Monaghan, in Ulster, are on a different level to a lot of teams but after that I really do feel the next five or six are on a level playing field within four or five points of each other on any day.
“So we would be wanting to turn the tide to get towards number four in Ulster and trying to push towards Championship. Hopefully a successful League leads to that.”
